Transition Culture

21 Mar 2006

The Party’s Not Over Yet – the airline industry’s subconscious speaks…. and some sheet mulching tips.

Although I do attempt to read the newspapers and keep abreast with what’s happening in the world, it is one of those universal laws that the time when you actually find the really interesting bits in the papers is when they are about 4 months out of date and you are using them either to start a fire or to mulch your garden. Any time I have used a lot of newspaper for ‘mass mulchings’, be it around new trees, in a new forest garden or wherever, I always end up heading home with a pocket bulging with articles to read at more leisure later. Starting the fire yesterday, my eye was caught by this advert for Quantas Airlines, which, although not meant in the way most readers of this site will interpret it, made me laugh, as being unintentionally profoundly honest.

The ad came from around New Year, which is the actual explanation for the slogan. I like to think of it though as the air industry’s equivalent of Chevron’s “Will You Join Us” ads from last year. Just unconsciously. Like a subliminal cry for help. Or something. Anyway, today’s top tip, if you want to be able to sheet mulch without the distraction of finding endless fascinating articles and only getting half the work done because you keep reading the papers. Either leave you papers in secure piles outdoors for a couple of months first, so they get rained on a few times, or stick them in the shallows of a pond overnight. The subsequently dampened newspapers will be almost impossible to open without coming to bits, they mould to the ground almost like papier mache thereby forming a more effective mulch, and they also don’t go blowing about all over the area you are working in.

Whenever I mulch using the ‘redtops’, the Mirror, the Sun and so on, I am always made aware of the fact that, not having a TV, I have no idea who most celebrities are. There’ll be some big scandal with some former Big Brother contender, a member of East Enders, and some new girl-band called “FoxyLoxy” or somesuch, and I haven’t even heard of any of them. No great loss really I’m sure…. I’m more of an Energy Bulletin man these days anyway….

PS. These photos are from the mulching of the lawn to create the forest garden at Kinsale FEC. We soaked those papers in the pond first, made life much easier.